Twisted Every Way
by BalletGirl98
Summary: Mina Grey was a rising star in the ballet world, when she was forced to take a break after developing an eating disorder. She journeys back home in an attempt to heal, but finds that the legends that surround the sleepy town may be true- and that she may soon become apart of them.
1. Chapter 1

Mina wrapped her arms tighter around her thin frame, keeping her gaze on the landscape whizzing by the car's window. She refused to look over at her mother, who sat behind the wheel of the car, and rather annoyingly popping her gum. The only sound to break the tense silence was the boring, talkshow radio that her mother seemed to listen to everytime she got in the car. This only served for her anger and annoyance towards her mother to increase. This had to do with the fact that her mother had just picked her up from the five month stay Mina had been forced to serve at Garden Ridge, a residential facility for those who suffered from eating disorders.

For the past five months, she had been forced, or as they said, _encouraged, _to put back on the weight that had taken her so long to lose. Her every meal and move had been monitored, along with that of the other twenty patients. She had sat through countless therapy sessions, being fed what she was sure was complete crap. That she was perfect the way she was, that her delusions about being overweight, were just that-delusions. Things she had tricked herself into believing that they were true. Of course, she sat through it and even told them that she didn't believe these things anymore so that she could be discharged sooner. However, they hadn't let her out until she had reached a healthy weight.

She resisted the urge to poke at the new layer of skin that covered her once completely bony frame. That would only lead to a lecture from her mother, and then a call from her therapist where she would have to sit through yet another lecture. She had no wish to be admitted back into Garden Ridge.

"Mina," Her mother's voice pentetrated the thick silence that filled the car. Mina ignored her. "Mina, I know you are upset with me, but you can't ignore me forever." She remained silent. "Karen and I agree that it is best if you take a break for a while."

Mina rolled her eyes. "You can feed me all this crap about what is best for me, but that doesn't mean I have to believe it."

She didn't even know why she had agreed to go back home, and stay with her mother for a while. She would have much rather spent her time in London, in her small, but comfortable flat. She could have still kept up her technique by taking as many ballet classes as she wanted. But, part of her release fro Garden Ridge had been on the condition that she would stay with her mother for a little bit so that she could monitor her eating habits. She was still on the strict eating regimen that required a certain amount of calorie intake every day so that she could maintain a healthy weight.

Her mother bit her lip, a habit that she had passed on to her daughter. " Mina, I know you are upset about not going back to the company but Karen and I both think that it would be best that you take a break from ballet. Peter even promised you a spot in the corps next season."

"And what after that? I spend the next ten years dancing in the back? I had a _career_ mom. Three or four more years and I know that I could have been a principal! I'll never get out of the corps again."

Her grip on the steering wheel tightened, her hands turning white. "Stop being so dramatic, Mina. If you think that that is such a waste of time, then you are more than welcome to apply to the local college in town. It has a dance program."

_Yeah, a crappy one_, she wanted to say, but she kept her mouth shut. There was no reason to continue the fight that she and her mother had been having ever since she had been discharged. It never got her anywhere anyway.

She had been a dancer, and a promising one at that. 'A rising star', that was what the papers had referred to her as. It was a pity that she had fallen before she had risen fully to stardom. But no matter what anyone thought, it wasn't ballet that had pushed her into the dark abyiss of anorexia. Ballet had been the only thing that had brought her happiness ever since she could remember.

At eight years old, she had started ballet lessons at the _Madame Albev School of Ballet._ It had been a small, neighborhood ballet school, that a Russian woman had opened when she had moved with her husband to his home town sometime in the sixties. Her mother had started her in ballet because many of the other children took lessons. After a few months, it became apparent that Mina's afterschool activity would become much more than that. A year later, she was moved out of the recreational program and into the program for those who showed promise. Under Madame Albev's instruction, she florished into a promising dancer.

At the age of seventeen, she auditioned for a spot in the corps de ballet for the National Ballet of England and was offered a contract. After three years, she was promoted to soloist. She had been excited by the very prospect of it. Few people progressed to soloist after such a short time, and she was sure it was because her dreams of being a _prima ballerina_ were beginning to come true. However, a few months after her promotion it had gone downhill.

Her first role as a soloist was the bluebird from _The Sleeping Beauty_. It wasn't a huge part, but it was her first real solo and she was excited to be dancing the part. She had gone to be fitted for her she had spotted it hanging on the door, she had nearly stopped breathing. The costume was made of a delicate deep blue silk overlayed with lace and embroidered with golden thread. However, when she had tried it on, her bubble of extreme happiness had burst. It was tight, and unflattering, hugging her body in the wrong places. The costume had been made originally for someone smaller than her, and would be fixed for her measurement's, but she could not erase the aweful fit of the costume from her mind.

So, she began taking an extra conditioning class and making sure that she spent a bit more time watching what she ate than she normally did. It was all healthy at first. But then, she had not been able to stop. She began obsessing over her weight and appearance, attempting to reach some kind of impossible perfection. By the time the opening night for _Sleeping Beauty _arrived, she had already needed her costume to be taken in twice. Within five months, she had become dangerously underweight and during a particularly grueling rehearsal she had passed out and been rushed to the hospital. After two weeks, she had been discharged, but then she had been forced into Garden Ridge.

She had hoped, with her discharge from Garden Ridge that she could join the company immediately. They were in the middle of performances of _Giselle _and a new contemporary ballet, but she was sure she could catch up. It wasn't uncommon for her to learn a part in two weeks, or even less, and then be expected to perform it. It was just part of the job as a professional dancer. She had even scheduled a meeting with the artistic director of the company, Peter Williams. She had been nervous for the meeting, and she had even felt a little bit ashamed. Though he pushed his dancers, Peter had zero tolerance for his dancers to be inflicting harm on themselves in anyway. He had even been the one to recommend Garden Ridge. He wanted strong and healthy dancers in his company.

At the meeting, her dreams of joining the company immediately had been crushed. Even though she hated it, she could see the reasons behind Peter's decision. He had said that it would be better for her to be away from the stresses of the company for a bit- to rest and fully get better. The horrible thought in the back of her mind was that he had thought she hadn't been strong enough to handle the stress and pressures of being a soloist. That she was too young.

When he had promoted her, he had even told her that he was taking a risk in promoting someone so young. You never knew how they would react to the pressure of having more responsibilities on them. It was better, he said that, that they were older and had been experience. However, he had told her that she had something special. Not only did she have the facility and the technique of a good, solid dancer, but she had passion when she danced. She didn't just perform the moves, she _danced_ them. She told a story. He had said that that was what made a great dancer, and that someday, she would perhaps be a star.

She had wholeheartedly believed him. She worked harder than ever. She attended extra technique classes, and was had frequently been locked in the building because she stayed so late practicing. She had wanted to be perfect. She wanted to enter the stage to thunderous applause and leave the stage with numerous curtain calls. She wanted to be perfect. That in itself was enough to have spurned her eating disorder. The costume had only sealed the deal.

Finally, they turned from the main road onto a bumpy, dirt road that led to the country home that had been Mina's home ever since she was six and her father had walked out on her and her mother. The last she had heard from him was a few years ago, when he had finally married the stereotypical blonde secretary that he had left her mother for. The country house finally came into view, once the thick line of trees finally broke. She felt a small smile curve her lips as she saw the faded, yellow paint and the peeling white paint on the shutters.

Once the car stopped, she slowly slid out of the car, pulling her tote bag over her shoulder. Despite her anger over not being back in London with the company, she found that she had missed her home. She missed the attic studio, which herself and her mother had converted into a practice studio when she was thirteen. She had spent many long hours there, practicing for the various roles she had gotten or hoped to get. She wondered if it was still the way she had left it when she moved out three years ago.

"Hey kiddo,"

She winced at hearing the pet name again. Her step father bounded down the porch steps, reaching her and enveloping her in a hug. Even though most of the time her more childlike than adultlike step father got on her nerves, she had to give him props for even attempting to have a relationship with her. It was more than what her own real father attempted to managed a small smile in return. She was sure it looked more like a grimace.

She walked up the steps, once she saw that her step father had helped her mother with her bags. Entering the foyer, she saw that it was still exactly as she had remembered it. The same pictures of her hung on the walls, along with her mother and step father's wedding photos. She paused by a picture of her from her ballet school's annual production of _The Nutcracker_. She had danced the _Sugar Plum Fairy _that year, and she remembered almost crying when she had learned that she had gotten the part. She almost rolled her eyes at the memory of a much more niave her.

"I have dinner already set out," Her step father said, still carrying her suitcases.

_I'm not hungry_. She wanted to say, and she really wasn't, but she knew that if she said that that her mother would give her a lecture. So, she followed her mother to the dining room, sliding into the seat that across from her mother as she always had. She stared numbly down at her plate, wishing that she had a normal relationship with food like normal people. She wished that she could 'just eat' as people who were skeptical of anorexia being a real disease said. But it was as if she had a deep innate fear of food that kept her from eating like a normal person.

"How was the trip?" Her step father asked in an attempt to break the silence.

"Good," Mina answered stiffly and simply. She didn't want to carry on a conversation.

She didn't miss the look her mother and step father shared. She almost let out a sigh. She was tired of people treated her as if she wasn't there. As if she were something that couldn't take care of herself without other's help.

Her mother tried again to fuel the conversation. " Madame Albev was interested in you potentially helping her out with rehearsals of the spring ballet. I told her that I would talk to you about it."

Mina shrugged. She really didn't want to be around a ballet if it didn't involve her dancing in it. "I'll think about it."

"It's _Swan Lake_," Her mother said. "I know it's your favorite. Madame Albev said that she thought it might be inspirational to the students to have you work with them."

Mina snorted. No one should find her inspirational. " Why in the world would she say that?"

"You made it into a company, Mina." Her step father pointed out. "That in itself is inspirational."

Mina sat back in her chair, crossing her arms. "And I'm sure the parents will _love _to have their children taught by the anorexic ballerina."

"Mina!" Her mother cried.

"It's true," She muttered, pushing her half empty plate away. "Would _you _have wanted someone like me to teach a class?"

Her step father replied this time. "Mina, I may not know a lot about ballet, but if Madame Albev thinks you are qualified to help, I don't see why it would be a problem."

She sighed, rising up from her chair. "I'm tired. I think I'll go ahead up to bed."

Before anyone could protest, she hurried out of the room, up the stairs, and into her room. She breathed a sigh of relief once the door, covered with ballet posters had closed behind her. It was still the same as she had left it, and even though she had told her mother more than once that she was more than welcome to convert it back into a guest bedroom, she felt a small amount of happiness that it was still the same. It brought back memories of herself when she had been happy, and her only worry had been about getting into a ballet company.

She jumped on her bed, grabbing one of the frilly, lace throw pillows and hugging it to her chest. She rolled over onto her back, staring up at the ceiling, where she had painted a cheesy dance quote when she was eleven. She thought back on her time at Garden Ridge.

Her first few months there she had fallen in with the crowd of girls who refused to allow the program to change their eating habits. They had hidden food which they promised the staff they had eaten, and Mina had even tried to sew quarters into the linning of her robe to fool the staff that she had gained weight, when she was really still losing it. The staff, most of which had been been with Garden Ridge for more than ten years, caught onto all of their attempts at fooling them, but that didn't mean that they hadn't tried.

Mina eventually realized that her resisting had only made her stay increase. So, she grudgingly began to comply with the rules and try to get better. She reasoned that the sooner she got out of the place, the sooner she could be back with the company. And anyway, why would she want to stay in that place any longer than she already had? She had no one who she could call a friend. Most of the girls were hostile, all of them still comparing themselves to each other. It reminded her of when she attended ballet intensives when she had still been a student. There was always tension in the air, as everyone sized each other up. She had always found it unnerving.

Suddenly feeling drained of energy, she kicked off her shoes, feeling her eyes begin to feel very heavy. Within only a few minutes, she was asleep.

Her eyes opened with a snap, and she sat up abruptly, still clutching the pillow to her chest. Her eyes darted around the room, which she was sure had been filled with dying evening light only moments earlier, and was now filled with darkness. Her breathing was shallow and heavy, and she had the distinct, aweful feeling that she was being watched. Still trembling, she swung her legs over the side of the bed, the wooden floor feeling like ice on her bare feet.

Fumbling in the darkness, she attempted to find the switch for the lamp beside her bed. The darkness that filled the room felt threatening, hiding whatever she was sure was about to do something horrible to her. Finally, she found it and the soft amber light broke through the darkness, illuminating the room and proving to her that there was nothing in the room.

She breathed a sigh of relief, throwing the pillow back onto her bed. She rose from the bed, crossing the room and hurriedly unzipping her suitcase. She shoved past mountains of dance clothing, before finally finding a pair of comfortable sweat shorts, and her favorite company t-shirt. Still having the eerie feeling of being watched, she quickly changed with the cover of the wardrobe door.

Once she changed, she had the sudden urge to go to the window that overlooked the back of the property, that faced a large forest. as she peered out in the darkness, attempting to see past the shadowed treeline, she had the feeling of being watched again. She shivered, quickly pulling the curtains over the window.

* * *

**A/N. So this is yet another attempt of mine to try and write a Hollow Kingdom fic. I have had this idea for quite a while now, but it wasn't until recently that I finally typed it out. I have a few more chapters that are still in the writing/ editing phase. I am hoping that I will actually finish this one now. If you liked or even hated this chapter please review. Reviews keep me motivated and help me improve and know what I need to fix, what needs to be developed further, what doesn't work, etc. Anyway, thank you for reading !**


	2. Chapter 2

Mina woke up late the next morning. After she had been woken up by that strange feeling of being watched, she had spent the rest of the night tossing and turning. She hadn't been able to shake the feeling, and had felt like a child again, laying in the darkness, her eyes darting around the shadowed room, and starting at every sound that the old house emitted. She had been glad when the first rays of sunlight had begun to peek into the room, and she could fall asleep in the safety of the sunlight.

She dug in her suitcase for an outfit for the day, finally settling on her favorite rose pink sweater and a pair of dark jeans. She mentally groaned at the thought of having to unpack all her suitcases and boxes. She had only asked her mother to pack her a few things, but aparently her mother had packed her whole flat . She moved to the dresser and brushed out her wavy, chesnut hair, wincing as she encountered a mass of tangles. She hated her curly hair. Finally giving up, she threw it up into a bun, quickly dabbing on a bit of make up. She sighed at her reflection in the mirror. There were heavy bags under her eyes, and her face looked gaunt and she was pretty sure that she could have passed as a member of the walking dead. She wondered how she had ever found this type of face, so lifeless and sick looking beautiful. And to think that she had actually wanted to be thinner.

She found her mother in the kitchen, reading the newspaper and drinking a cup of coffee. "Good morning,"

"Morning," She mumbled as a reply, going over to the counter and picking up a bananna. After a second thought, she switched it out for the smallest one in the bunch. Her mother noticed but said nothing.

"I thought that we might go to town and go shopping."

Mina looked up from where she had been cutting the bananna into small, equal pieces. She hadn't been to town in years and she wondered if they had added anything into the tiny town square that had served as a shopping center for the residents. That also meant that she might run into her best friend since she had been in diapers, Amanda Little. They hadn't talked as much as they would have liked to ever since Mina had moved to London to dance with the company. Mina had been busy dancing, and Amanda had started taking classes at the university only an hour away, in the hopes of one day becoming a doctor. With them both being so busy, they had almost lost contact completely.

"Do think we will have time to stop by Amanda's?" She asked. She notice her mother stiffen, and her face had paled. "What's wrong?"

"Mina..." Her mother trailed off. She sat her coffee cup down on the table, wringing her hands like she always did when she was nervous, a trait she had passed onto her daughter. "We didn't want to tell you because we wanted you to focus on getting better..."

"Mom, just spit it out. "She said, worry beginning to knot itself in her stomach.

Her mother sighed. "About a month after you were admitted to Garden Ridge... Amanda... She went missing."

Mina felt her mouth go dry and the worry that had knotted itself in her stomach felt like a heavy bar of lead. Amanda go missing? It felt like something out of those cheap, low budget movies she and Amanda always used to watch. It was _impossible. _Things like that only happened to people in movies or on the news. Something like that couldn't happen to someone she knew, let alone someone she had been so close.

"I'm sorry we didn't tell you earlier, Mina. " Her mother said, but it felt like a distant echo in her mind. " We wanted you to focus on getting better, and not have anything prevent you from getting well as fast as you could."

"Mom, my best friend went _missing_!" She cried. "How could you not tell me something that important?"

"Honey, we didn't want anything to distract you from getting better.. You know that the doctor said that if you didn't gain weight immediately that you..." Her mother trailed off, gripping her coffee mug tightly. "You only needed to worry about getting better."

"Mom, Amanda went _missing_. That's way more important. She could be dead,being tortured, or worse, and you thought that me getting better was more important? You could have at least told me."

"Mina-"

She stormed out of the room, slamming the kitchen door behind her. How could her mother not tell her that her best friend, practically her sister, had gone missing? She had been so busy mopinng over her own, now much more less important, problems, when Amanda had been kidnapped or killed by some psycho. She thought about all those crime programs she and Amanda used to watch all the time, each of them guessing who the guilty party was. It had never seemed possible that one of them would end up in the same position as one of the people that had been killed, or worse, on the shows.

It didn't even seem possible that something like that even had a chance of happening to Amanda. She was the most cautious person that Mina knew. Apparently, watching all those crime shows had made her paraniod and she never left the house without her pocket sized bottle of mace. She had even taken a few self defense classes, and had dragged Mina along with her to them. And she had had this weird habit of never going outside alone at night. Mina had teased her about, telling her that all the local legends of goblins an elves had gone to her head. Now, Mina felt bad about it. Even though it most certainly wasn't any mythical creature that had kidnapped Amanda, she had been right in being careful. You never knew what kind of monster could be lurking in the dark.

Mina was suddenly reminded of the strange feeling she had had last night. She had had the feeling that someone had been watching her, even that someone had been in the room with her before she had been jolted awake. And as her eyes had darted around the shadowed room, she had had the feeling that someone-or something-had still been in the room with her. It was the very same feeling that she had always had after she had stayed up late, watching horror movies with Amanda. It was simply her mind playing tricks on herself, she told herself. And besides, her window had been shut tight and locked, as had her bedroom door. It was impossible that anyone could have been in the room.

* * *

Too upset at her mother to go back down and ask her the details of Amanda's case, Mina resorted to using the Internet. She grabbed her laptop from her desk, sitting down Indian style on the bed and opening it infront of her. She quickly typed in her Amanda's name and found that it popped up several results from major news networks. She found it was odd that she hadn't heard even the news that a girl had gone missing. But then again, at Garden Ridge the only television they had only played DVDs. She clicked on the first result and it pulled up an article dated only a week after Amanda had gone missing.

_'Amanda Little, 19, was reported missing last week after attending a party with a group of friends. Her friends reported seeing her willingly leave the party with a man, who they claimed to have never seen before. The police currently have no leads and are offering a reward to anyone with any information. Little was a pre-med student at the nearby university and had plans to become a doctor.'_

Mina frowned. The Amanda she knew would have _never _left a party with someone she had only just met. In fact, Amanda rarely ever even went to parties. Mina had always had to beg her to go with her, with promises that she wouldn't leave her by herself. She hadn't even spoken to people she didn't know, despite often being hit on at every party they attended.

"They are just pigs," She would always say, with a disgusted expression on her face.

"You'll never meet anyone if you never give anyone a chance."Mina would reply.

"Hmm.."

That was Amanda's way of ending an argument. Mina had always thought it was Amanda's way of not accepting that she had been beat and not wanting to argue further. If there was one thing Amanda hated, it was being wrong. Amanda had always been top of the class and the best at everything she did. She had a competitive spirit and hated being upstaged. Even though it would sound like Amanda was stuck up, she was one of the sweetest people that Mina had ever meant. She was literally the type of person who would give you the shirt off of her back, while hounding you with obscure facts about her newest obsession of course.

She closed the laptop with a sigh, burying her face in her hands. She could feel the start of a headache coming on, and even though she had only just woken up, she felt exhausted. It would be much easier to sleep, and hide from the aweful reality that her best friend was gone, then to stay awake and try to deal with it. But wasn't that what she had always been good at? She had always had a habit of putting off her problems and telling herself that she would deal with them later. The problem with that was that she usually kept putting them off and never dealt with them.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N. Thanks to everyone that has reviewed so far. This chapter would have been up earlier but I was having some difficulties with my computer. Oh and to Supersniperkitty, that line about her changing her ways was actually supposed to be taken out during editing. I guess I missed it and did not notice that I kept it in there. Thanks a bunch for saying something or I probably wouldn't have caught it. Anyways, I hope you enjoy the chapter and please review.**

* * *

Mina spent the next few weeks doing her best to avoid her mother and step-father. She spent nearly all of her time in her room, mainly sleeping,reading, or listening to music. She only emerged from her room when her mother forced her to for meal times. She was still upset at her mother for making her stay with her for the rest of the year, and the knowledge that her mother had withheld the information about Amanda's disappearance only made her even angrier. Even though her mother had peeled off or covered the nutrition labels on the jars, boxes, and cans of food, Mina used previous knowledge about the exact amount of calories each food item. She also found a way to get past the blocks her mother had put on the websites that her therapists had found to be too 'triggering'. It sounded childish, but her continuing the anorexic behavior was almost her way of being defiant and getting back at her mother.

She found a small, empty notebook and began religiously recording every calorie that she ate. She hid it in her old dance costume box, underneath all the bulky tulle layers of the various old tutus. Mina was sure that her mother would never find it. In addition, she started exercising daily again, determined to work off the calories that she was forced to ingest. She made sure that no one caught her by performing the various exercises an hour after everyone had gone to bed. By the time her weigh in day came around, she had discovered the perfect way to sew coins into the hem of the robe that she was required to wear. She had lost nearly three pounds, but the scale showed that she had gained a couple of pounds. Her mother had hugged her despite her protests, and congratulated her. Mina had felt bad for deceiving her mother, but the feeling of success from the losing the weight had outweighed her guilt.

One night, Mina awoke to that same feeling of being watched. She had had a nightmare, and she was sure that that was what had woken her up. She hadn't remembered the exact details of the dream, but she had the faint memory that she had been running away from something. She had fumbled for the switch on her lamp fearfully, with the feeling that if she didn't fill the room with light soon, that something horrible would happen. When she had finally found the switch to the lamp and the room had been filled with the soft orange glow of the light, she had seen something out of the corner of her eye. It had looked like the figure of a person, but had darted quickly away before she had been able to look at it fully. She had been filled with thoughts of Amanda, and had the fearful thoughts that someone had been in the room with her. From that night on, she had slept with a baseball bat by her bed.

"Mina!" Her mother knocked at the door, trying the handle but finding that it was locked.

Mina groaned, rolling over in bed, and pulling the covers over her head. The early morning light streamed in through the flimsy white curtains, burning her eyes. It only had to be at least eight o' clock in the morning and she usually did not get up until after ten. Just as her eyes were closing, there was another knock at the door.

"Mina, you can't hide in your room forever."

Sure she could. She had been successful at doing just that for the past two weeks. She was sure that she could keep it up for at least another two months. And besides, it was easier to hide and mope in her room, than to leave the safety it provided and have to face reality.

"Go away," She said, snuggling deeper down into the covers. Her eyes fluttered closed again.

The door opened, and she jolted up into a sitting position. Mina had thought that her mother had lost the key to her room years ago. She sleepily looked at her mother, already dressed for the day. She had obvious already been awake for hours. She hated morning people. She rubbed her eyes in an attempt to wake up.

"Get up." Her mother said, walking farther into the room.

"What?" She said, still sitting on the bed.

"Get up Mina. I'm determined that you are not going to lock yourself in here anymore." She said.

Mina crossed her arms. "Why? What am I supposed to do anyways?"

"Madame Albev has an early morning rehearsal today for _Swan Lake_. I already talked to Karen and she thinks that it would be a wonderful idea for you to go and help."

She rolled her eyes. "Then what was all that crap about ballet being bad for me now?"

"Karen said that it would be the perfect way for you to ease yourself back into ballet. You will not be performing, so that will take a lot of the stress away that it would usually have."

"Do I _have _to go?" She moaned.

Mina didn't really want to go to anywhere that involved ballet if it didn't involve herself dancing. She didn't want to have to stand the whispering that would be sure to follow her. And she most certainly did not want to have to face Madame Albev after she had failed her.

"Yes," Her mother replied. "It will be good for you,Mina. And I think that you might even have a little bit of fun."

Mina sighed. Usually once her mother put her mind to something, nothing would stop her from seeing it through. She wondered if it was even worth the energy to continue to argue with her mother. And her mother was at least a little bit right, she grudgingly admitted. She might actually enjoy herself. It had been so long since she had been at ballet, in any form, and she missed it deeply. Even though she didn't really want to watch other people dance while she couldn't, and she didn't want to even look Madame Albev in the eye, she decided that she would go. But she wouldn't be happy about it.

"Fine," she said, climbing off the bed. "But don't expect me to be happy about it."

She shooed her mother out of the room, and turned the stack of boxes that all of her wardrobe was currently in. She dug through the boxes, finally finding and settling on a pair of yoga pants and her favorite lavender leotard. She pulled on a company jacket over it, and twisted her curly hair quickly up into a bun. She pulled on her favorite pair of soft ballet boots. She took a second glance through the box to make sure that she hadn't forgotten anything.

She spotted a pair of new pointe shoes, the satin of the shoes entirely unblemished. She ran her finger down the smooth satin, carefully untangling the ribbons as if it were priceless and carefully studied these shoes. Now that she thought about it, pointe shoes had played a large role in her life. When she had first gotten the much anticipated permission to get her shoes at eleven years old, she had begged her mother to take her to the dance store as soon as possible. That Friday evening, her mother had taken her to the local dance store where she had tried on dozens of pointe shoes until she had found the perfect pair. She had felt like Cinderella, finding a shoes that fit perfectly.

Even though she wasn't supposed to, she had put on her shoes as soon as she had gotten home and had shakily _bourred _around the living room for hours. For the first time she had felt like one of those beautiful ballerinas that looked so ethereal on stage. She had felt that she had been one step closer to becoming one of them.

The reality of dancing '_en pointe_' came crashing down on her as soon as she had taken the shoes off. She had danced with absolutely no padding in the shoe. As a result, newly formed raw and painful blisters had dotted her toes and feet, and she remembered that her feet hadn't stopped pounding for hours. Despite the pain that came associated with dancing in pointe shoes, she still constantly retained that beautiful ethereal feeling whenever she danced.

Mina smiled at the memories, and picked up the shoes, putting them carefully into her bag. She hurried down the stairs, finding her mother waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs. Wordlessly, they walked outside and got into the car.

* * *

"I have a few errands to run," Her mother said, turning the radio down. "so I'm just going to drop you off. But, if you need anything, call me."

Mina made a sound as a way of saying that she understood, burrowing deeper into the warmth of her jacket. She couldn't help but feel as if her mother was just dumping her off there. She had had that feeling of being 'dumped off' by her mother and people in general when she had been admitted into Garden Ridge. She felt like she wanted someone else to deal with her daughter's problems. And during the weeks that Mina had been pouting in her rooms, her mother had even stooped down and called Mina's father. That's how Mina knew that she had really reached the end of her rope.

They soon entered the tiny village of Hollow Hill, passing the many houses and residential areas that made up the bulk of the town. She was right when she guessed that not much had changed. The same stores still lined the streets in the middle of town, the same cars passed by them, and the buildings looked exactly the same. The town used to be a booming tourist town in the fifties, sixties, and early seventies. The surrounding area, which was mostly forest was actually really beautiful. Despite the town's attempts at recapturing the former glory days and even going as far as using the local legends to attract visitors, it was mostly a ghost town.

This was mostly evident by the sheer lack of any shops whatsoever. As they passed by the 'downtown' area that held much of the stores, she was sure that she counted maybe five or six. Mina had always hated living in a small town. From a young age she had fantasized living in a large city, and had fallen in love with London. She had vowed to move and dance there as soon as she turned hated the way the sleepy mood the town always seemed to be in and much preferred the hustle and bustle of London.

They finally reached the ballet studio, which was in an old converted building beside Madame Albev's home. It looked exactly the same as she remembered. Beautiful purple flowers framed the pebble walkway that lead up to the entrance of the building. The entire building was gated by an old black iron fence. Mina had always thought that it looked like something out of a picture book.

"Remember, call me," Her mother said as Mina slid out of the car seat.

Mina nodded, grabbing her back and slinging it over her shoulder. She opened the small iron gate, walking through and jumping as it clanged behind her. She glanced up at the cloudy sky that threatened rain and hurried into the building. The lobby was warm and devoid of any life. She could hear music from _Swan Lake _filtering down the hall from one of the studios. Portraits of various famous ballerinas, including Madame Albev, hung on the wall along with portraits of various students that she had had over the years. Mina noticed that a picture of herself hung on the wall. She was perched delicately in an _attitude derriere, _a huge smile on her face. She quickly walked away from the picture. She didn't want to continue to look at a picture of herself back when she had been happy.

She walked quickly down the small hallway. She was glad that it was empty. It gave her some time to compose herself before she would have to encounter the stares and whispers. She reached the two large metal double doors of the large studio where all company rehearsal were held. She let out a deep breath, and attempted to prepare herself. She slowly pushed the double doors open and the swelling sound of one of Tchaikosky's greatest scores increased in volume. She saw just a moment of the dancers dancing before they all stopped, turning to see who had come into the room. Immediately, whispers filled the room and Mina wanted nothing more than to run out of the room. She was stopped from doing this however by Madame Albev who enveloped her in a hug.

"Mina!" She cried. "How good of you to come. I was hoping that you would."

Mina attempted a smile. She had to admit that she did miss her ballet teacher. She had always been fascinated by her because she had always seemed so exotic. In her youth, she had danced for a Russian ballet company and had traveled the world as a dancer. The dancers always gossiped that she had danced in the Amazons and other equally exotic places. Mina had always dreamed of doing the same thing.

"Ladies," Madame Albev said, taking her arm and leading her forward in the room. "This is Mina. She is a dancer with Ballet England. She has come to help us with rehearsals. I want you to treat her as you would me, that is to say with respect."

Madame Albev started the music again, and the dancers all reluctantly took their spots, still whispering. Mina sat on the stool next to where Madame Albev stood, occasionally barking directions.

"I'm proud of you Mina," Madame Albev said, in between corrections. "You look much better."

If anyone else had said that to her, she would have been offended, but Madame Albev was sort of a second mother to her. She couldn't find it in herself to be angry at her. And Mina didn't have to worry that Madame Albev was just saying it. She knew that she would never say anything unless she really meant it. She wasn't like other people who only said what they thought she wanted to hear.

"Hm," She replied. "I had hoped to be dancing with the company again by now."

Madame Albev yelled another correction at one of the dancers before replying. "You shouldn't push yourself, Mina. Would you rather come back still sick or rested and better than ever?"

Mina could see her point of view, but she didn't want to admit it. "I- It's just that they had just promoted me to soloist. There are so many roles that I could be dancing now..."

"I didn't ever tell you Mina, or anyone really. "Madame Albev paused. "But I went through something very similar to what you are going through. I was angry at myself for a very long time. Well, I suppose I was angry at everyone. But, you know what? When I came back to dancing, I was better than ever. I suppose I appreciated it more now that I had been without it. It's amazing how you come back stronger than ever once you've reached the bottom."


	4. Chapter 4

Mina walked down the street, gazing worriedly up at the darkening sky. She shoved her hands into the warmth of her jacket pockets, taking out her phone briefly and looking at the time. It was seven-thirty, nearly time for her to meet her mother for dinner. Rehearsal had run much longer than expected and the two had decided to meet in town at a local restaurant for dinner. She had declined the offer of a ride, preferring to walk instead, but now she found that she had regretted her decision. The street was deserted and the first drops of rain were beginning to fall. She felt that eerie feeling of being watched again wash over her and she quickened her steps. She was instantly reminded of Amanda and her heart began to beat faster. She wondered if this was how Amanda had felt. Had she felt this awful feeling of being watched and not being able to do anything about it?

She glanced around at her surroundings quickening her steps yet again. She was almost at a run. The rain began to fall heavier and her heart began to beat faster. She felt as if she was about to hyperventilate. She fished her phone out of her pocket, holding it firmly in her hand. At least she knew that she had her phone charged and on hand if anything were to happen. In her haste, when she reached the curb leading on the next street, she misjudge how big of step she had to take, and tripped forward, landing in the puddle that was beginning to form. She felt tears burn her eyes, this was possibly one of the worst days of her life. It got even worse when she saw that almost the entire contents of her bag was strewn across the dirty, wet street. Apparently in her hurry to get out of the studio, she had forgotten to zip the zipper. That was just the icing on the cake, she thought.

She rubbed the tears out of her eyes, propping herself up. Why did bad things just seem to happen to her? First, it had been her mother forcing her to leave the safe, sanctuary room and go the ballet rehearsal. It had been nice to be around ballet again, but she hated the whispers and stares that had been directed at her. Didn't people have better things to do? Sure, it wasn't everyday that a dancer had a nervous breakdown and had to take a break, but it wasn't anything new. She knew of plenty of dancers who had had to give up dancing because of the stress. Couldn't people just treat her normally and leave her alone about it?She just wanted to go home, curl up in a ball, and never leave her room again.

She reached out to grab the stuff that had fallen out when she saw that someone had already beaten her to it. She felt fear fill her, sure that it was someone that had followed her. She was sure that there had not been anyone else on the street but her. Her eyes journeyed upwards, to where a face would be and she gasped. What she was sure was the handsomest man she, or anyone else, had ever laid eyes on was currently handing her her clothing. She sat dumbstruck, her mouth slightly agape.

He had curly, black hair that just brushed the collar of his shirt. His eyes were as dark as his hair, but he was squinting for some reason, as if the light bothered him. She could tell that he was tall, even though he was crouched on the ground. He still towered over her slight frame. He looked exactly like one of those perfect statues that were in museums. She would have thought she was dreaming if it hadn't been for the cold rain pounding down on her, assuring her that what was happening was in fact real. She didn't know it was possibly for someone so perfect to exist. Still numb, she accepted the pile of her things from him, shoving it back into her bag. He stood back up, and her assumptions of him being tall were instantly confirmed. He had to be at least 6' 4''. He offered her a hand and she stared at it.

"Well, are you just going to stay sitting on the wet ground?" He asked, humor filling his voice. His voice was a deep baritone, and for the first time her life she understood what people meant by a voice having a musical tone.

Her hand shaking, she took his offered hand, letting him pull her up. Her thoughts and fears of being followed were completely banished from her mind. She felt as if she were in shock. She was completely speechless, and though she tried, she was unable to form any words. She probably looked like a fish, with her mouth opening and closing in an attempt to form words. Great, she thought, she looked stupid and was embarrassing herself. That really wasn't anything new.

"I'm Aganir," He said.

"M-Mina." She managed to stutter out.

He chuckled, probably laughing at her stuttering. She felt a flush come over her face. She wasn't blessed like most people to look at least cute while blushing. Her whole face turned red and felt hot. She was sure she looked like a fool. It was bad enough that she had to crane her neck to look up at him. She noticed that her hand was still held firmly in his between them and she blushed more, if that was possible. However, she wasn't exactly sure that she wanted him to let go. It was odd because she had never felt that way before. She was pretty sure it was shallow just to be attracted to some one by their looks, but she had never seen anyone so handsome in her whole life. Even the celebrities who she and Amanda had giggled over could not hold a candle to to the man standing before her.

"Thank you for helping me. It probably would have taken me ages to even try and get it all gathered up. I'm not usually that clumsy. I was just distracted and- Sorry." she blushed again. "I'm rambling."

"That's quite alright.I find it quite charming." He said, smiling down at her. There was silence for a moment. "Are you eighteen?" He asked

She was broken out of her awe by the sudden and odd question. The fear that had been gone slowly leaked back into her. Who even asked that sort of question if they weren't some sort of creeper? Like a lot of people, she had grown up with the notion that 'bad' people were always ugly,old, and wore dark clothing. She couldn't believe she had let something like someone being attractive get in the way of her judgement. She jerked her hand from his grasp, backing away.

"I-I have to go. I,um, I'm late for something."

He laughed again. "Very well. Until we meet again, Mina."

* * *

**A/N. Thanks to everyone that has read and reviewed this story. This chapter took me longer to write than I had expected. It's also pretty short, but the next one will be much longer. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and please review!**


	5. Chapter 5

Mina did not stop running until she had reached the safety of the warm restaurant. The smell of food was pungent in the air and she felt her stomach churn. It frustrated her that food still had such a powerful hold on her. Still soaked from her fall, and shivering partly from fear and the cold, she slid into the seat across from her mother.

"What happened?"

"I tripped. " Mina replied quickly, keeping her eyes on the menu in front of her.

Her mother sighed, offering her her jacket which Mina gratefully accepted. "I told you that you should have let me come and pick you up."

Mina shrugged."I wanted to walk. I miss getting to walk everywhere. "

Her mother sighed, but apparently did not want to argue with her further because she remained silent. Mina was grateful. She really didn't want to talk.

Despite her best attempts to block it out, her mind was still filled with thoughts of the mysterious man. He was unlike anyone she had ever met before, and despite the creepy vibe she had got from, she couldn't help but want to see him again. Just so that she could be sure that he was real and not a figment of her imagination. She glanced out the window, scanning the street for any sign of him. It was empty. She felt disappointment tug at her gut. She mentally rolled her eyes at herself. She was being boy crazy like those girls that she and Amanda used to make fun of.

"Mina, are you even listening to me?"

Mina blinked. She turned back around to face her mother. No, she hadn't been listening. She tended to tune her mother's annoying chatter out. No doubt she had been going on about something mother sighed again. Mina rolled her eyes. She hated when her mother did that.

"As I was saying, that nice Adam boy you knew from school is over there."Her mother nodded her head towards the other side of the restaurant and Mina resisted the urge to look.

If she meant nice by totally ignoring her and finding her unworthy of his company, than sure, he was the king of nice. He had been apart of the group of populars at school who were rich and found themselves above everyone else. She was sure that she had never spoken two words to the guy before. She hadn't even been able to stand them. They were the type to be disgustingly sweet to your face and then talk about you unmercifully behind your back.

Mina snorted, looking back down at her menu and not replying.

"Oh come on Mina, you cannot hide away forever. You might as well make a few friends while your here."

"If I wanted to be friends with him, I'm sure I would have already done that."

"Oh look," her mother hissed in a whisper, "He's looking over here at you."

Mina rolled her eyes. "Probably because you have been staring at him like a stalker."

Her mother made a sort of dismissing sound, shaking her head. "Come on Mina, you can't always be such a grouch."

Yes she could. In fact, she was pretty sure that that was what she was best at. She had always been a bit of an 'up tight' person and had always been the one accused of ruining the fun. That was why she had becone friends with Amanda so quickly. While she wasn't as extreme as her by any means, they had both fancied that they had a maturity beyond their years. They used to do the silliest things to make themselves seem more mature. Mina smiled fondly at the memories.

Her mother shook her arm. "What?" She snapped.

"He's coming over here."

Probably to tell them that he was going to get a restraining order or somrthing. Her mother had the tendency to look a bit crazy. Once again, she wished that she was back in London. At least she wouldn't have deal with her embarrassing mother.

"Mina is that you?"

She looked up, seeing the familar figure of Adam, who had once been the school hottie. He hadn't changed much, she noted. He still looked mostly the same as he had. His eyes were still that same baby blue that every girl had sighed over, and he was still just as muscular, if not more so than he had been. Mina remembered that girls used to giggle whenever he would pass them in the hall. She and Amanda used to mimic their comical reactions whenever they had their various sleepovers until they collapsed into giggles.

Mina forced herself to smile. It probably looked like a grimace. "Hey Adam."

"Wow, it's been a while." He said, smiling.

She nodded her head in agreement. She hoped that he would go away soon. She had never spoken two words to the guy before. What could he possibly want with her? He probably wants to see what all the gossip has been about, she thought angrily. A brief moment of awkward silence followed.

Adam broke the silence. " I heard from my sister that you were helping with the rehearsal today. She was really excited."

Mina remebered faintly that his sister had been one of the swans and had been featured in the_ Dance of the Little Swans_. She found it odd that he would have even known that. The Adam she had known from school had not seemed to care for anything else exceot for himself. She mentally shook her head. She was being petty.

"Yeah," She nodded, shifting nervously in her seat.

Another awkward silence settled over them. Mina figeted in her seat. She had never really been good at socializing or spurring on a conversation.

"Well," he finally said. "It was nice seeing you. Maybe... maybe we could go out for coffee sometime? To catch up."

Mina blinked. Had the Adam Hensworth actually asked her out on a date? She had half a mind to look a mind to look around for the hidden cameras. Surely this had to be a joke. She had hardly ever spoken two words to the guy before. He had ignored her throughout most of school, why on earth would he want to 'catch up' with her. He's probably just being nosy, she thought, he just wants to get some information from me. Mina was just about to come up with some lame excuse about being busy when her mother interrupted her.

"I'm sure she would love to. Wouldn't you Mina?"

Mina sat in stunned silence. This really had to be some kind of joke. The Adam Hensworth she knew would have never stooped so low as to asking her out. And then there had been that encounter with that guy. No guy that handsome would pay any attention to her plain self. She waited for the cameras to come out to proclaim that it had all been some big, stupid joke.

"Great." He said finally, after some silence had passed. "I guess I'll see you later then Mina."

Mina smiled tightly after him.

* * *

As soon as they got in the car, Mina blew up at her mother."Mom, I can't believe that you did that!"

Her mother glanced at her. "I don't understand why you are so upset. It's not like he was asking you out on a date. "

Mina fumed in her seat, her arms crossed in front of herself. "God that makes me look so desperate. Like I can't even answer for myself. I'm nit a kid anymore. You can't keep treating me like one."

"Maybe if you stopped acting like one, than I wouldn't have to."

Mina glared over at her mom. "I don't act like a child."

Her mother gave her a look." Mina, you are throwing a fit like a little kid."

She was about to say that no, she was not throwing a fit but decided that that would not help her case. She wasn't acting like a child. Was it so wrong of her to be made at her mother for answering for her? She had every right to be upset.

She sighed. "Mina if you are so upset, you can just call him and call it off. Besides, it's not like you set a date or anything."

Mina remained silent. Her mother knew that she would never muster up the courage to call him. She cursed her shyness.

"If it makes you feel any better, I'm sorry. I just thought it would be good for you to be around people your own age again instead of locking yourself up in your room."

"Maybe I want to stay holed in my room." She snapped.

Her mother sighed again. God, Mina hated that sound. " Mina, you'll never get better if you insist on moping around all day. This pity party act won't get you anywhere."

She wanted to argue that she wasn't throwing herself a pity party. That it wasn't her fault that no one seemed to care about her. But that would only add evidence to her mother's case about her acting like a child. She hated when she argued with her mother and she backed her into a corner that she couldn't escape from. She had always though that her mother would make a good lawyer.

* * *

Mina hurried up to her room as soon as they got home. She wanted ro be alone. She did not particuarly want to be around her mother if she seemed to think that Mina was throwing herself a pity party.

As soon as she got to her room, she fell asleep. She dreamed that that man stood by her bedside. Despite how obvious it should have been to scream, she found that she couldn't. That or she didn't want to. Wordlessly, he offered her his hand, and she took it. He pulled her up into a standing position, and she followed, almost in a trance. She had the feeling that she could not have run away, even if she had wanted to.

As they were almost out of the room, her eyes landed on the pair of pointe shoes that she had left on her desk. Next to that, was a picture of herself and Amanda. It had been taken backstage at one of their recitals. Amanda hadn't really been that much of a dancer, but she had stayed in it because Mina insisted. The two, then sixteen year olds stood side by side, dressed in matching costumes and laughing over something that had been said but was now long forgotten.

It was as if she regained consciousness. She had the sudden feeling that if she continued to follow him that she would never see her home again. She ripped her hand out of his grasp, backing away a few steps. He turned around, a confused expression coloring his perfect features.

" What do you want from me?" She asked fearfully. Gone was the dreamlike trace feeling that she had been under before. It had been replaced by pure fear.

"I'm have no intention of hurting you, Mina." He said. Whem she still stared at him with a terror filled with expression, he elaborated. " Though I suppose to tell you of my intentions then I will have to tell you who I am."

"Who are you?" She asked, her voice shaking.

"I am Aganir, the Elf King."

She stared at him blankly. At least she knew for sure that she was dreaming. That or a pyscho had broken into her room.

"You think that I am lying?" He said after several moments of silence had passed.

"This is a dream so I guess that anything could be true." She replied.

He remained silent for a few moments as if he was carefully choosing his next words. "I am speaking the truth, Mina, whether you believe me or not."

"What do you want from me them?" She demanded. " You said that you would tell me what you wanted from me after you told me who you were."

"Very well," he said. "but I think that you should sit down."

She shrugged. "I'm fine standing."

He grinned at her and Mina found it hard for her heart not to melt at the sight of it. It was strange that that simple smile had the ability to melt her into nothing more than putty. She shook her head to try and get her concentration back.

"You're stubborn Mina," he said. "I like that about you."She gave him a quizzical look and he answered." It makes you all the more interesting."

She felt that same sense of fear trickle back into herself. She was pretty sure that she was dreaming, but she was still in the room with a crazy person.

"Well, if you won't sit down..." He trailed off before speaking again. "We kings have always needed a human bride to produce an heir. It has always been this way since we were created. And I believe that I have finally found the perfect bride after searching for such a long time."

So? She thought, gazing at him impatiently. What on earth did that have to do with her? And suddenly, the horrible implications of what he meant dawned on her. He couldn't be serious. This guy who could give any celebrity a run for his money couldn't possibly mean that he meant to make her his wife. And then he had said something about an heir. He couldn't mean that he was going to force her to give him an heir or something. She had only heard of this sort of thing in the movies. She stared at him in horror and suddenly felt very faint .

She felt her knees begin to crumple underneath herself and saw the ground begin to rush up to met her. Before she could smack her face into the floor, he had caught her in his arms. She could not even get out one protest before he had put one arm underneath her knees, carrying her bridal style.

"Mina, you are dreaming. When you wake up in the morning, you will remember what happened as being a dream. Now, sleep." She was asleep before her head even hit the pillow.

* * *

**A/N. Thanks to everyone that has reviewed so far. You are what keeps me motivated to keep writing. Anyways, I hope that you enjoyed the chapter. Please review!**


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